There were 25,419 new and used homes and condominiums sold last month in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties, DataQuick said.

That's up 17.6 percent from June and 23.5 percent compared to a year earlier. In fact, sales were only a half-percent below the historically normal level for July.

The median sales price — meaning half of the homes sold for more and half for less — was $385,000. That was the same as in June but up nearly 26 percent since July 2012.

The median price has now risen year-over-year for 16 months in a row.

"We think a lot of the increase in activity can be chalked up to a rising inventory of homes for sale. The jump in mortgage rates a couple of months back might have spurred more buying, too," DataQuick President John Walsh said. "The market continues its rebalancing act, with more and more people who've been 'underwater' now able to sell their homes at a profit, or at least break even."